The Horror of cannibalism in North Korea

The news agencies information about public executions in the DPRK, three people caught in the act of devouring human flesh, shocked the world community

Household practiced cannibalism on the ancient stage of stone age. His reasons were, on one hand, the lack of food, and the other religious – mystical views. With the increase in the supply of food cannibalism was stopped almost everywhere. Religious cannibalism persisted longer, was expressed in the eating of different body parts of enemies killed, relatives of the deceased; was founded on the belief that the strength and other properties of the dead move on to eating.

In the Central regions of Africa, the Islands of Polynesia and in Brazil cannibalism was widespread until the beginning of XX century.

In our time, isolated cases of cannibalism recorded in developed countries. Arrested for this crime are either fans of satanic sects, maniacs or perverts. And only in North Korea for lack of food, the human body still serves as a source of food.

In 2009 in the city of Heshan citizen of North Korea killed and ate the child, for which he was sentenced to death. The second case of cruelty occurred two years later in the town of Musa. According to a survey of 230 refugees from the DPRK, this is not isolated cases. In particular, the refugees told about another famous case they are: in 2006 in the Eastern part of the country, two of the defendants, father and son, were found guilty of eating human flesh and shot.

Where does this dreadful famine in our time, when all the warehouses are full of food? The reasons are rooted in the past. Geographically the territory of North Korea little adapted for agriculture. For this reason, in the former Japanese colony in the North was largely developed in industry, the South was seen as the breadbasket of the Japanese Empire.

Obtaining the independence of Korea and the division of the country in 1954 forced the North Korean government to seek new methods of solving agricultural problems. In 1946 in North Korea, under Soviet occupation , was agricultural reform. Which nationalized land owned by wealthy Koreans and the Japanese. After the proclamation of the DPRK on September 9, 1948, the economy virtually stood on the assistance provided by the Soviet Union and China.

However, geopolitical changes in the world of late eighties – early nineties of the last century are extremely reduced that help. It is the persistent desire of the leaders of North Korea to get their hands on nuclear weapons has led northerners to a world of isolation and the imposition of the embargo on trade with that country. In 1995 the DPRK had begun a real hunger. The famine in North Korea lasted from 1995 to 1999 and claimed, according to various estimates, from 250 000 to 3 000 000 lives. According to experts, the famine was caused by a sharp reduction in international supplies, the ineffective policy of the North Korean leadership and low yields in the country. The North Korean government recognizes the fact of hunger and economic hardship in the country and claims that they are caused by economic sanctions against the DPRK.

The supply of food in the DPRK is based on the card system. Moreover, a senior official has 700 grams of rice, the elderly and the disabled for 90 grammou. During the famine, and by the numerous reports of refugees, there were cases of cannibalism. Hunger has led to significant changes in North Korean society.

South Korean Buddhist organization “Good friends”, based on the data of its volunteers, illegally penetrated into the territory of the DPRK, published a book “We want to live humanly” In particular, the book contains the following information:

• 28.6% of families surveyed had died from hunger and disease. • The highest percentage mortality was observed in two age groups — among the elderly (died 77.3% of people aged 60-70 years and 90.7 % of those older than 70 years) and children up to 9 years (died of 40.5 %). The lowest percentage of mortality was observed in the age group from 30 to 40 years — died of 6.9 %. • The greatest mortality was observed in the province Chagando.

• The majority of respondents (57,1 %) considered the main cause of hunger, the catastrophic flooding that led to the underproduction of food. 22,6 % of respondents said that hunger for the responsible authorities of the DPRK, and about half of them personally lays the blame on Kim Jong Il. While 4.1 % of respondents believe that the main cause of hunger and economic embargo by the USA.

Unfortunately, the first months of the reign of the current dictator of North Korea, Kim Jong UN, do not give grounds to expect that international isolation will be overcome and the problem of hunger will finally be resolved. So, there will be new reports of cannibalism in North Korea.